Unfortunately this is only a partial victory. The EU Commission introduced a number of exemptions, which means that some palm oil could still be promoted as a “green” road fuel, and it failed to classify soy, a major contributor to deforestation worldwide, as unsustainable.

EU member states and the EU Parliament now have two months to pass or veto the Act, but they have no power to amend the rule. Although we expect some criticism, we think it'll be approved.

The Act adopted by the Commission will be reviewed in 2021. T&E and its partners will be monitoring closely any abuse and will call on national governments to follow France’s example and completely eliminate all palm oil from biofuels after 2020.